Author's Note

I know this chapter seems short but I felt that it worked well as a standalone chapter. I also highly recommend listening to the song I linked to in the story. It really adds to the experience and helps you get into Shawn's head.

My original vision for this story was very different from what you're seeing. It's gone much deeper than I planned, a lot more...in-depth as far as character thoughts and interactions are concerned. There will be naughty parts but they will be tasteful. Like I said in the description, this is a work of sensual fiction, not a raunchy clopfic. It was never intended to be but I really didn't envision going this direction either. Truthfully, this story is now writing itself and I'm allowing the characters to teach me about them. I'm just the guy writing down what they're telling me.

Anyway, hope you guys are still enjoying it and don't forget to show my other works some love too. Stay classy, FiMFiction.

Hey Jude

"Okay, let me rephrase that," I said, running my fingers through my air in exasperation. "…what?"

"Did I stutter?" the colt half-demanded, fixing me with an annoyed glare. "What did you think I said?"

"Look, I might not have graduated summa cum laude from My Little Engineering Camp but I'm not stupid," I retorted, growing impatient. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you designed this…magical floating island?"

"And the train you rode in on!" he added, folding his arms over his chest indignantly.

"And I suppose you can back this all up?"

"What does this look like?" the colt replied, handing me the pass hanging around his neck, much like my own.

"Lemme see this…" I muttered, scrutinizing it closely. At first glance, it looked just like mine; everything was in the same place…with one minor exception. Instead of saying "Guest" under the name, there it was plain as day:

Gizmo Widget

Chief Engineer, Head of Technical Design & Application

"Oh."

"Believe me now?" the colt known as Gizmo asked smugly.

"If you didn't mug anyone to get this, then yeah, I guess I don't have a choice." I admitted before shaking my head. "But that still doesn't explain why you were spying on those girls!"

"Would you kindly tone that down a few hundred decibels?" Gizmo asked in a hush, taking a quick look around.

"Why should I?" I countered. "You were the one sniffing around from the shadows like Batperv." I knew he wouldn't get it but I went for it anyway.

"No I…" he began before stopping with a sigh. Realizing that I had him, his shoulders slumped and his expression softened considerably. "…okay, maybe that wasn't the best way to endear myself."

"Endear yourself? You were spying on them, man."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" he finally conceded, throwing his hands up defensively. "Look, I swear I wasn't trying to "perv" on her or anything like that. I was…admiring."

"Yeah, well there's better way to admire than…wait, 'her'?" I asked, considering what he'd just said. "That was…awfully specific. Do you know them?"

"Of course I do!" Gizmo exclaimed haughtily. "I mean, I know one of them." I was about to inquire further when the sounds of someone approaching stopped me. Knowing what was about to happen, Gizmo and I exchanged worried glances.

Meanwhile…

Fleur cocked her head to the side, trying to tell where the muffled voices were coming from. Coco noticed the sudden silence and did the same.

"There it is again," Fleur observed, getting to her feet. "Guess all this privacy was too good to be true, huh?"

"Guess so," Coco said, nodding in agreement. "Where should we go now?"

"What do you mean?" Fleur asked.

"I mean…we can't stay here…" Coco replied softly.

"Why not?"

"Because…" Coco mumbled, her cheeks reddening. Fleur smiled softly and patted her cousin's hand.

"Coco, sweetie, I know you're shy but you have nothing to be afraid of. They're just other beachgoers like us. Besides, maybe they'll be really cute and fun to hang out with! Remember what we talked about earlier?"

"Never judge a book by its cover," Coco recited, rolling her eyes.

"Exactly! Now let's go see who it is, okay?" Seeing the trepidation on her cousin's face, Fleur gave Coco's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Look, if you don't like them for any reason, I promise we can go wherever you want. Just remember that one of the great things about vacations is the people you could meet, okay?"

"O-okay," Coco half-whispered with a small nod. "I…I'll try." Fleur smiled and helped her cousin to her feet.

"That's all I ask. Now, let's go see who it is."

Momentarily…

"They're coming!" Gizmo hissed.

"No shit!"

"Look, please don't give me away! I'm sorry!" he pleaded as quietly as he could. I was taken aback by his expression; for the first time since our initial encounter, he seemed almost…genuine. I sighed and relented.

"Fine, but this spying nonsense stops now, got it?" I hissed. He frantically nodded just as the subjects of our hasty pact emerged from behind the rocks. "Follow my lead!" I added quickly.

"Well, I don't know about you but this looks like the perfect place to hang out!" I announced, trying to make it seem like we'd just arrived. "Now all we need is…"

A flash of pink and white, and a soft smile complemented by a pair of kind, light-purple eyes.

It was her, the same mare that had taken my breath away on the platform the day before. And now here she was approaching us accompanied by a younger, slim, cream-colored mare with a short light-blue mane. While her companion was very attractive in her own right, my attention was focused solely on the curvy pink-maned beauty in the daring jet-black bikini.

You know, the one who'd made me consider things I never thought I'd ever consider ever.

There was a pause as we regarded each other; Gizmo tried (and failed) to look nonchalant and I tried not to shamelessly stare, while the girls looked at us curiously.

"Um…hi…" I said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Hi," the taller one replied with a small smile. "Listen, not to sound creepy or whatever but we heard someone talking over here, so…"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry if we disturbed you," I replied apologetically. "My friend here was just telling me how this is the perfect place to…"

"Tan!" the colt blurted out.

"Yeah, that's right, tan!" I exclaimed.

"Fair enough," the tall mare replied with a shrug. "That's why we're here. As soon as we heard how much sun there was gonna be, my cousin and I just had to take advantage of it!"

"That's because the entire island is designed to rotate according to the position of the sun relative to the beaches," Gizmo suddenly piped up whilst adjusting his glasses. "Essentially, if one part of the beach isn't receiving enough solar exposure while another part of the island is, the island can rotate so that the beach always gets the specified amount of sunlight according to general guest preference." A moment passed before he realized that we were all staring at him, and promptly found every excuse to focus elsewhere.

"A-hem," I said, deciding to let him off the hook. "Ladies, I'd like to introduce my…friend…Gizmo. He's an engineer."

"Chief engineer," he reminded. I rolled my eyes.

"Right, chief engineer," I continued. "And I'm Shawn, on vacation from Earth." I extended my hand to the two mares.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," the taller mare said with a warm smile, shaking my hand without any hesitation. "My name is Fleur de Lis and this is my cousin, Coco."

"N-nice to meet you…" the shorter mare, Coco, said shyly.

"Nice to meet you too," I replied with a smile of my own before elbowing an equally shy Gizmo.

"H-hi," he stammered with a small wave, clearly out of his element.

In my head, I began to piece his story together; evidently, this was a colt who was more than proficient in the field of engineering but not socializing, and especially not with mares…even with one he'd known for several years, albeit from a distance. Gifted but at a cost; through no fault of his own, his life had taken a remarkably different path than most youngsters his age. Sure, he was a little strange but most gifted individuals were in some way. Instead of throwing him to the wolves, I opted to take that other path. Hopefully, I could get him to join me on it and good things would happen. After all, these girls seemed friendly enough and any practice was better than none.

It had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to get to know Fleur de Lis. There was something about her that fascinated me and no, it wasn't her physique.

Well, not completely.

It was her the look in her eyes and how she carried herself. Her posture and tone spoke of great self-confidence and kindness, while her willingness to shake my hand despite the rather remarkable differences between our species suggested something else: sincerity. Indeed, as she'd shaken my hand, her grip was firm and deliberate (yet soft and fuzzy), telling me that this was a mare who meant business. It was a lesson our kickboxing master had reminded us of time and time again; you can tell a lot about a person by how they carry themselves.

"Well? Aren't you going to shake his hand?" Fleur asked of her cousin. "We wouldn't want to be rude to these nice boys, would we?"

"N-no, of course not," Coco agreed, shaking her head before slowly approaching Gizmo. I was trying hard not to giggle as they awkwardly looked at each other before gingerly shaking hands and by the looks of it, so was Fleur. "H-hi, Gizmo. I'm, um…Coco. Coco Pommel."

"Um…Gizmo, Gizmo Widget," he said nervously. "It's, um, really good to meet you." I smiled; at least he possessed some sense of decorum.

"Wait…what's your last name?" Coco asked, surprising us as she suddenly took the initiative.

"Um, it's Widget." At that, Coco's eyes widened and her nervous expression transformed into a small smile.

"Gizmo Widget!" she exclaimed somewhat excitedly.

"Do you know this young gentlestallion?" Fleur asked, evidently as curious as I was.

"Fleur, this is Gizmo Widget! He was the one who helped me pass statistics last semester!" Coco said, causing Gizmo's cheeks to redden.

"This is the famous Gizmo?" Fleur asked with a smirk.

"Eep!" Coco squeaked.

"I'm sensing a story here…" I added from the sidelines.

"From what Coco told me, her business statistics class was giving her quite the headache until this fine gentlestallion came along and turned her C into an A+." Fleur explained, causing her cousin's cheeks to redden as well. She turned to Gizmo and sent a grateful smile his way. "Well, it seems like we owe you a thank-you. How about letting us treat you two to lunch? I think our mathematically-inclined friend here deserves it," she suggested. I nodded in agreement.

"I would say so."

"And, to be honest, I'd love to hear about where you come from," Fleur added, returning her attention to me, prompting my heart to thump in my chest. "I've visited Earth a couple of times but didn't get to see nearly as much as I would've liked."

"Sure. I'd be glad to help." I said with a nod. "Ready to go when you are. How about you? Feel like grabbing a bite?" I asked the colt at my side.

"Uh sure, I could eat."

"Me too," Coco added as they quickly looked at each other once again.

"Excellent," said Fleur, clasping her hands together. "Just give us a minute to grab our things and we'll be ready to go, okay?"

"Gotcha." With one last smile, Fleur ushered a flustered Coco back around the rocks to gather their belongings.

I may or may not have appraised Fleur's posterior as she walked away. For science.

"Hypocrite…" Gizmo muttered, still beet-red.

"Oh, go build a volcano, Bill Nye." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Who?"

"Never mind." I turned and suddenly grabbed his shoulders. "Do you realize what just happened?" I asked.

"We're having lunch?"

"No! Well…not just lunch. We've been invited for lunch by two beautiful girls!"

"…Oh…" he whispered as the realization seemed to dawn on him. "I can't do this!"

"What do you mean?"

"I've never…I've never done this before!"

"Done what, had lunch?"

"No, not that, you ignoramus! I've never…had lunch with a m-mare before…" he admitted.

"Hey, I've never done that either," I said, trying to calm him down. "I'm from Earth, remember? I've never spent time with a mare either so we're both in the same boat here." It was technically true; while I'd had a few dates back on Earth, I had never spent time with a girl from Equis before. "Look, I've spent time with girls before but not Equestrian ones. I'll do my best to help you out but how things go is up to you."

"That's helpful," Gizmo groaned. "What do I do?"

"Just…be yourself but…polite and stuff. Like, make sure you show her that you're genuinely interested in her and what she has to say. Don't focus on yourself but don't be afraid to share things if she asks or it's relevant to the conversation."

"But…what if I tell her something she doesn't like and she stops liking me?" he whispered fearfully.

"That's just the risk you have to take," I said with a shrug. "Look, just be kind to her, take an interest in what she says, and who she is. Think you can do that?" There was a pause as Gizmo pondered my words before nodding slowly.

"I…I think so."

Meanwhile…

"Cousin Fleur, what are you doing?" Coco squealed as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Whatever do you mean?" Fleur asked innocently as she retrieved her towel and began rolling it up.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Coco said, grabbing her shirt and hurriedly donning it. "You were trying to set me up with him!"

"What?" Fleur asked. "I wasn't trying to set you up with him. While I do think you two were adorably awkward back there, I promise you that I definitely was not trying to set you up." She went over and put her arm around her cousin. "I respect your feelings, Coco, and I would never put you in a situation that would make you uncomfortable."

"But this is making me uncomfortable…"

"Look…if spending time with them is scaring you this much…we can do something else. I for one, think that after all the help Gizmo gave you, treating him to lunch would be a great way to show how thankful you were, don't you think? And isn't the fact that Shawn's from a completely different world fascinating? Aren't those good reasons to give spending time with them a chance?" Fleur reasoned, trying to coax her introverted cousin out of her shell.

"Well…he was really helpful…" Coco mused, her blush returning.

"That's the cousin I know and love," Fleur said with a smile, embracing the younger mare. "You'll have a good time, you'll see." I think we're in for a fun afternoon, she thought.

***

We wound up at a small but busy vegetarian bistro facing the beach and giving us a wonderful view of the horizon. Our walk to the restaurant had been full of small talk and general pleasantries, perfect for breaking the ice between the four of us. As such, upon arriving at the eatery, I felt as if we'd already established a bond. A small one perhaps, but a bond nonetheless.

I sure hoped so.

Fleur was…amazing. My assumptions about who she was were spot-on. She was every bit as kind and sincere as I'd hoped, greeting anyone we met with a friendly salutation or a wave, bucking every stereotype in the face. I know what you're thinking; she's smoking hot so she has to be a snob, right? Not even a little bit. It was clear that she knew exactly how desirable she was but not once did I get the idea that she was allowing such perceptions to define her. She simply took it in stride and treated everyone around her as if they were just as desirable, both physically and personally. That alone made her stand out in my eyes; the ability to make others feel as confident as she was simply by treating them well.

While Fleur and I were getting along famously, Coco and Gizmo were another story. While Coco appeared to at least be making an effort, Gizmo seemed…reluctant to engage in anything beyond superficial chit-chat, despite knowing her from school. I frowned, wondering if there was anything I could do to help. Truth be told, the more time I spent with Gizmo, the more of myself I saw in him. In my youth, I had frequently felt misunderstood and different, even ostracized. Hell, teenage years are tough for anyone under normal circumstances. Gizmo…must've been under enormous pressure to live up to the potential everyone else saw in him. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever been allowed to have a youth, let alone a childhood.

Coco was another mystery. While she was clearly willing to get to know my brainy new friend, there was something holding her back. It wasn't to the same extent as what Gizmo seemed to be experiencing but it was there. There was no doubt in my mind that Fleur knew full-well and was doing her best to help her cousin get past it; another reminder of why I found the mare so fascinating.

I realize that I'm making a lot of assumptions here but something told me I was pretty close. It's like that feeling you get around certain people, that hunch that tells you what their words cannot, or have not because they haven't been said yet. Whatever the cases with my new friends were, I felt myself developing a vested interest in understanding why and if possible, helping them. I figured that all of this good fortune meant more than simply letting me live like a king for a fortnight. No, there has to be another reason and as we walked and felt the warm sand between our toes, I felt like I knew what it was.

Fleur de Lis.

Gizmo Widget.

Coco Pommel.

Shawn Martin.

We'd figure it out together.

But for now, lunch awaited.